Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Monday

Fact N°
876

The average American spends about 52 minutes a day reading the newspaper.

John Q. Public is also financially better off than his parents, lives within a few miles of both a McDonalds and a public park, and contradicts himself over whether or not he trusts these national polls.
Opinion polls like Gallop begin by leveling the playing field. They poll people in the one place they all share: the home. Using the principle of equal probability of selection, their goal is to "allow every adult American an equal chance of falling into the sample."
Gallop has polled Americans on their opinion of Gallop polls, and learned that Americans are skeptical of these methods... but have a tendency to trust the results.

Tuesday

Fact N°
877

Perspiration is odorless; it is the bacteria on the skin that creates an odor.

Human sweat glands come in two flavors: Eccrine (unflavored) and Apocrine (ripe). Eccrine sweat glands are located virtually everywhere on the surface of the body, but they cluster most tightly at the palms, the soles, and on the forehead. Containing water and various salts, the perspiration they produce regulates body temperature.
Apocrine sweat glands hold marquee positions in the groin and armpits. The perspiration here contains organic compounds and other material broken down by bacteria on the skin. This action leads to the odor.
Apocrine glands don't develop until puberty, which is why deodorants aren't marketed to the grammar school demographic.

Wednesday

Fact N°
878

The mean distance from the Earth's surface to its center is 3,958.8 miles.

Science fiction writers have been taking readers to the planet's core since Jules Verne wrote Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1864. What kind of travel time are we talking about here?
Assuming the crusts, mantles and steamy temperatures (9,000 F / 6,000C) weren't a hindrance, a modern jumbo jet would get you there in under eight hours, while a car would require over two and a half days.
Incidentally, this distance is about 200 miles shorter than the Great Wall of China.

Thursday

Fact N°
879

Betty Rubble's maiden name was McBricker, but Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was given as both Pebble and Slaghoople.

Controversy is brewing in Bedrock, but not from animal rights groups campaigning against the degradation of woolly mammoths employed as vacuum cleaners. Rather, one of the town's most wholesome gals may not be all she claims to be.
In early episodes, Wilma's maiden name is Pebble, yet in later episodes her mother gives her name as Slaghoople. What is this woman hiding: a scandalous divorce? A rap sheet?
Whatever the case, perhaps Wilma cleverly endorsed her true origins when she christened her daughter, Pebbles.

Friday

Fact N°
880

Penguins can change salt water into fresh water.

For the thirsty sailor, the cruellest joke is saltwater: Its dissolved minerals require more water from the body to eliminate them than saltwater itself provides. All things being equal, severe dehydration is the end result.
Penguins incidentally ingest plenty of dangerous saltwater, but they have a secret weapon to combat it. A superorbital gland (behind the eye sockets) functions similar to a kidney, filtering out the salt and retaining the water. The by-product can often be seen dripping out the bill like a runny nose.

Saturday

Fact N°
881

New York City has 570 miles of shoreline.

The entire state of New York covers over 54,000 square miles. At 321 square miles, New York City makes up a minute fraction. Yet, of the state's 989 miles of ocean shoreline, over half are in NYC. How is this possible?
The answer: her islands, but not in those you might think. Areas within the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, such as Jamaica Bay, account for a majority of the city's 500 islands, many of them small, uninhabited, and operated as wildlife sanctuaries under the auspices of the Parks Department.

Sunday

Fact N°
882

Hundreds of millions of dollars in lottery winnings go unclaimed every year.

37 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have state-run lotteries, and each have their own ideas about what to do with the unclaimed money, which includes everything from jackpots to scratch-off tickets. Usually the State Legislatures are tasked with the decision; some direct it to charities, others to schools.
The largest jackpot in England ever to go unclaimed was Â£9.5 million ($18.8 million) in 2006; it was the 24th winning ticket in excess of Â£1 million to go unclaimed in the program's history.